World Cup Semifinal Friday: Running Blog

It's going to be another hot day in Oshawa as the semifinals of the World Cup get underway. I'm live at the Oshawa Civic Center Complex for both games, providing live updates throughout the games.

For a recap of yesterday's quarterfinals, you can check out some notes and analysis, photos from the scene and a podcast with quotes from coaches and players.

The first semifinal today is between the U.S. and England. Both teams were dominant in their quarterfinal matchups as the U.S. topped Haudenosaunee 20-1 and England shut out Wales 10-0. The U.S. beat England 17-7 in pool play earlier in the tournament. Katrina Dowd has been lights out in the tournament so far, reminiscent of her postseason dominance as an attacker at Northwestern. With 20 goals through five games, she's on pace to break Quinn Carney's record of 24 tournament goals set in 2005.

About to get underway here... if you read that with a Canadian accent, it would be aboot. And by aboot, I mean in 15 minutes or so. Back with live updates when the game gets underway. For the moment, going to check out the stands and grab some photos.

Semifinal 1: U.S. vs. England

First Half
30:00: Katie Rowan, who won player of the game honors in the quarterfinals with a goal and five assists, gets the U.S. on the board first. The U.S. has won the first two draw controls of the game... and have capitalized on both possessions now as Kelly Berger nets one.

So far, the England defense has paid extra attention to Katrina Dowd, who leads the U.S. in scoring. They have Asha Niven on her and are sliding early.

Berger comes up with the draw and the U.S. transitions quickly. Sarah Bullard is fouled inside the 11 and scores on the free position shot. The U.S. leads 3-0 with 26:36 remaining.

25:33: England gets on the board as Sarah Taylor scores on a free position. U.S. goalie Devon Wills came out of the net and was caught in shooting space and put behind Taylor on the free position.

Katie Schwarzmann, Caitlin McFadden and Ally Carey on a midfield line together. Taylor is marked up on Schwarzmann. Lindsey Munday sends a beautiful pass across the 11 to Danielle Etrasco just above goal line extended on the near side and she buries the low angle shot. U.S. leads 4-1.

A couple names you might recognize from the England team: Sarah Taylor, who scored the team's first goal, will be a senior at Johns Hopkins. Laura Merrifield was a midfielder at Maryland and a key part of their run to the NCAA championship in 2010.

England wins the draw and scores on the break as Laura Merrifield uses her speed to beat the defense in and get a shot off in close range.

21:11: U.S. now with the Berger, Kristin Igoe and Bullard midfield line in the game. Berger dodges in from the top of the eight and is fouled. She scores on the free position, making it look easy with a great sidearm shot to the inside pipe. 5-2 U.S.

Holy cow. Great individual effort by Merrifield, starting a good 7-10 yards behind Jenn Russell as the U.S. was clearing and catching up to her and getting off a perfect stick check to knock the ball down. The U.S. recovered the ground ball, but nevertheless, an impressive effort by Merrifield.

England gets a turnover and sends a couple long passes through the midfield, eventually getting the ball to Emily Gray with no one remotely close to her. She pumps her stick to move Wills and scores. 5-3 U.S.

14:57: Overall, been impressed by England's team speed. I made this obervation yesterday too during their game against Wales, but to see it again against one of the fastest and athletic teams in the field is a different story.

Katrina Dowd at X, gets a quick feed to Munday cutting in and Munday buries it high. 6-3 USA. After winning the draw, the U.S. gets the ball to Katie Rowan at X. She feeds Dowd cutting in for a score. That goal off a similar play as the last one. U.S. cutters able to get space on the England defense.

11:52: Merrifield scores her second of the day, bull dodging in for a score. Good physical effort to get through traffic and get the shot off. There was some discussion over the goal, but it definitely counts.

Annie Hillier makes a great trail check on Berger to get the ball back for England. On the other end, Alexander Bruce gets a shot off on the doorstep, but Wills is there for the save. The U.S. transitions fast and gets a shot off on the break, but Sally Keogh was there for a low save. Good stop there and Englad looks to clear. Once again, they get a pass upfield to Gray, who is above the U.S. defense and has a great look on cage as the USA defense tries to get back in the hole. She scores to the top right corner and the lead is cut to two. U.S. up 7-5.

3:04: The U.S. scores as McFadden sends a pass to Rowan cutting in from the top. 8-5 USA. On the next possession, Bullard scores on a free position, which is also how she scored her first goal. She puts a powerful shot to the top corner. 9-5 USA.

:33: Some nice ball movement by the U.S. on offense. They get a pass to Sarah Albrecht on the near side and she looks to shoot, but is whistled for shooting space. Her lefty shot on the free position goes in and it's 10-5 U.S.

The U.S. is rolling now, getting an other score with some great passing inside the 11. Rowan sends a cross crease pass to Munday, who has an empty net to look at with Keogh caught on the opposite side. 11-5 USA. That's how we head into halftime. A close game through most of the first half, the U.S. was able to pull away later in the frame with some quick ball movement.

At the half, Katie Rowan leads the U.S. with two goals and two assists. Munday has two goals and an assist, and Bullard and Berger each have two scores. England has been able to gain possession off the draw, winning that battle 10-7 in the first half. The U.S., however, is all over ground balls, winning 10 to England's four and have capitalized on many of England's 11 turnovers.

Second Half
30:00: U.S. continues their scoring run as Etrasco scores on a free position. 12-5 USA.

England wins the ensuing draw and scores quickly as Hillier finds Sophie Brett. It was a three-on-two opportunity for England and Brett was open across the 11. 12-6 USA.

Albrecht gets crafty, coming around the crease and trying to go one-handed with the shot. It's stopped by Cat Gaunt, who is in net now for the second half. Megan Huether in for the U.S. In transition, Ruby Smith scores to cut the lead to five. 12-7 USA.

24:09: Good defensive stop by the U.S. as Huether came up with a save and bolted out of the net on the clear. On the other end, great feed by Munday just below goal line extended to Etrasco cutting in from the opposite side for a score. 13-7 USA.

Igoe on a free position from the center hash makes it 14-7.

20:33: Great move by Caitlyn McFadden to score for the U.S. She uses her quick feet to get a step with an inside roll. She got pressured by the England defense and got the shot off on her way to the ground. 15-7 USA.

Igoe to Etrasco makes it 16-7. U.S. getting some great passing looks to cutters.

16:25: Merrifield dodging in gets a call on Kristen Carr for a block. Her shot on the free position is high. On the restart, Keely Watt finds Sarah Taylor, who makes an excellent move through traffic for the score.

On the ensuing draw, Dowd takes a pass from Etrasco for another goal. 17-8 USA. The U.S. dominance continues as Carr scores her first of the day.

I learned something important yesterday — in international play, the mercy rule goes into effect when a team has a 12-goal lead, not 10 like it is in the NCAA. Team USA with an 18-8 lead with less than 13 minutes remaining.

11:57: Great move by Munday around the crease, faking high and shooting low past Gaunt. The U.S. wins the draw and Albrech feeds Munday inside for a score. 20-8 and now the clock will run as the U.S. has a 12-goal lead. And the U.S. continues to build their lead as Dowd scores to make it 21-8 with 10:13 remaining. A water break is taken.

Bullard comes up with the draw off the circle and gets it immediately to Russell, who brings it in. The U.S. moves it around the perimeter, killing time off the clock. England starting to send doubles to the ball. The U.S. is stalling, just passing the ball around. England kinda sitting back now.

The U.S. advances to the gold medal game, beating England 21-8. They'll take on the winner of the Australia vs. Canada semifinal, which is coming up next at 2 p.m.

Australia vs. Canada

Canada and Australia are taking the field for their semifinal matchup. The winner gets the U.S. tomorrow at 3 p.m. I'm excited to see this game as I imagine Australia feels the need to avenge the loss to the Canadians in pool play. And after their ridiculous offensive output last night, I definitely think they have it in them.

Once they got going last night, the Canadians were also impressive, winning draws and dominating possession. Should be a good one.

First Half
30:00: Lots of Loyola connections in this game. Dana Dobbie for Canada going against Stacey Morlang for Australia on the draw. Team Canada coach Alexis Venechanos said this would be a key area for the team today.

Each team with a possession so far. Canada turned it over on a pass out of bounds and Australia got a look on cage as Hannah Nielsen fed Lyndsey Paton inside but Katie Donohoe was there for the save. On the other end, Canada gets on the board first on a score by Mandy Friend, who was last night's player of the game with a four goal, one assist performance. 1-0 Canada.

23:51: Courtney Hobbs drew a fould for a push on Mandy Friend dodging in from the top. On the restart, Friend looked to dodge, drawing the defense and giving Crysti Foote a second to get open in the middle. Quick feed and goal. Canada leads 2-0.

Off the draw, the Aussies grab it and Cass Cursaro takes a pass from Hobbs for a goal. Australia wins the next draw and works the ball around. Paton dodges in but is checked toward the head. She shoots high on the free position and scores. Tied at 2.

19:19: Great passing goal by Canada as Vanessa Vanderzalm feeds Mandy Friend on the crease. Barely enough room to get that pass in, but she threads the needle and a great finish by Friend. 3-2 Canada.

16:40: Nice goal by Dana Dobbie, taking Tess McLeod to cage and unleashing a hard sidearm shot to the top corner. Canada leads 4-2. Dobbie does it again, this time taking McLeod from the opposite side of the cage and finishing with an underhand shot. Great move by Dobbie, who's also directing traffic a lot on the offensive end.

Excellent defensive effort by Vanderzalm, picking off a pass from Sarah Mollison and starting the Canada fast break. Just great anticipation and quick execution. The Canadians had a great opportunity on the break, but the shot sailed high. And another pickoff on the defensive end for Canada as Foote gets in the passing lane of Nielsen.

9:07: Dobbie rolls the crease and tries to get a flip shot off, but it goes wide and Canada doesn't have it backed up. Ball to Australia.

Karen Morton with a good ground ball pickup in the midfield off a botched pass by Canada. Australia didn't have numbers on the break — it was a two-on-two opportunity — and Morton took it to X as Australia settles in on offense. Nielsen at X feeds Morton cutting in for a score. 5-3 Canada.

2:37: Abbey Friend scores on a free position to give Canada a 6-3 lead. Katie Guy makes a terrific defensive play on the next Australia possession to cause a turnover and start the Canada fastbreak. She gets the ball back at midfield and gives it to Mandy Friend coming in just outside the 15. No one slid to Friend and she had an open look on cage for a goal. 7-3 Canada.

That's how we head into halftime. Sue McSolvin made a save in the last five seconds, but it wasn't enough time to outlet a pass and have time to score.

Second Half
30:00: McSolvin with a big save on Canada on the doorstep early. Canada can't hang onto the ball though and Canada clears.

The Canadians score first in the half as Takacs at the top of the 11 finds Dobbie cutting up from GLE for a goal. 8-3 Canada.

23:46: Australia has had a couple scoring opportunities the best one coming on a cross crease feed from Nielsen to Mollison. Mollison's low angle shot was stopped by Donohoe, who came across the goal circle to make a great save on a shot that's become Mollison's bread and butter.

Dana Dobbie took a spill and is being looked at by the trainers. She hops up and walked off the field on her own, so that's a good sign.

19:33: Australia had another fastbreak opportunity as Nielsen was all alone in transition. Another great save by Donohoe and on the other end, Emily Boissonneault makes a great move to cage for a score. Canada leads 9-3.

Canada with possession, taking some time off the clock. Morton goes off with a yellow card and Canada will be a player up. McSolvin makes a low save and Australia clears. Marlee Paton roll dodges past Mandy Friend and scores, but a foul is called. Her free position shot goes wide.

10:50: Australia scores its first goal of the half as Mollison buries the ball low in transition. 9-4 Canada.

Stacey Morlang scores to make it 9-5 and that's two straight goals for the Aussies, the first time they've put together consecutive goals since early in the first half. Canada calls a timeout.

8:19: Canada comes out of the timeout and answers as Brooke Eubanks scores. 10-5 Canada.

Australia gets a great look around the crease. Mollison moving around on the far side sent a pass to Nielsen on the doorstep, catching Donohoe out of position. 10-6 Canada.

6:20: Canada makes a great defensive stop as Lindsay Svec comes up with a ground ball. Canada moves the ball quickly through midfield and Dobbie converts on a great look right in front of the net. Canada leads 11-6 and are just over five minutes away from going to their first gold medal game.

A couple notes, only three teams have competed for the gold medal at the World Cup: the U.S., Australia and England. Six of the eight gold medal game matchups have been between the U.S. and Australia and the U.S. took on England in the other two.

1:50: Big battle on the draw and Australia eventually comes up with it. Even more physical play now later in the game in what has already been a pretty physical game from the opening whistle. Mollison feeds Nielsen for a score. Nice ball movement there by the Aussies. 11-7 Canada.

Canada is able to run out the clock and they'll head to their first gold medal game in a World Cup with an 11-7 win.